Written Answers

Wednesday 6 September 2000

Scottish Executive

Cancer

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed in the last year for which figures are available, how many deaths from prostate cancer there were in that year and what percentage changes these figures represent compared with previous years.

Susan Deacon: Scottish Cancer Registry data for 1997 – the most recent year for which completed information is available – show that 1,781 new cases of prostate cancer were diagnosed and 708 men died from the disease.

  Figures for the period 1993 to 1997, including percentage changes year on year are as follows.

  





Registrations by year 
of diagnosis


Deaths by year of 
registration




Year


Number


% change Annually


Number


% change annually




1993


1,716


n/a


746


n/a




1994


1,778


+2.2


740


-1.4




1995


1,852


+3.4


776


+1.6




1996


2,030


+8.3


743


-4.3




1997


1,781


-13.8


708


-6.7




  Slightly inflated incidence in 1996 is due to the introduction of a standard definition of incidence date across Scotland.

Cancer

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many men requested screening by prostate specific antigen test in the most recent year for which figures are available and how many medical practices actively offered such screening in that year.

Susan Deacon: Information in the form requested is not held centrally.

  The Scottish Executive is committed to tackling cancer in the most effective ways possible, including screening programmes.

  The current advice from the UK National Screening Committee is that a national prostate screening programme with current techniques would not give benefits and might actually do harm. This is because the current prostate specific antigen testing technique produces too many false positive or negative results and cannot distinguish accurately between cancer and other infections.

  This does not exclude testing men who have symptoms or a family history of prostate cancer.

  The Scottish Executive is keeping this policy under review as new techniques and evidence become available. In addition, the Scottish Cancer Group has set up a Review Group to consider the issues surrounding the management of prostate cancer and will report to the Scottish Executive Health Department early in 2001.

Community Care

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has issued guidance on which relatives are liable in respect of the payment for the provision of care by social services departments to an individual.

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it issues guidance to local authorities on the appropriateness of seeking payment from relatives in respect of the provision of care by social services departments to an individual.

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it issues guidance on the appropriateness of taking into account the income of a spouse or partner when assessing an individual’s ability to pay for the provision of care by social services departments.

Iain Gray: Circular SWSG1/97 gives guidance to local authorities on charging for non-residential care services. In the case of residential or nursing home care, guidance to local authorities in assessing ability to pay and who should contribute is given in Circular SWSG 6/98 as amended by Circulars SWSG 2/99 and CCD 2/2000.

  These circulars are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Elderly People

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any formal definition of elder abuse.

Iain Gray: The Scottish Executive has no formal definition of elder abuse. We know that some organisations subscribe to the definition that elder abuse is a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person. This definition would appear to reflect the general understanding of what is meant by elder abuse.

Influenza

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, when arriving at targets for immunisation of the over 65s from the flu virus, any comparison is made with other European countries and, if so, what the comparable targets are.

Susan Deacon: Neither the Scottish Executive Health Department nor the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health is aware of the application of uptake targets in other European countries. Similarly, the Department of Health in England has no information in this area. The target was agreed with representatives of the BMA in Scotland as a Scotland-wide target, which is regarded as both achievable and beneficial in current Scottish circumstances.

Information Technology

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it took in response to the findings of the Public Accounts Select Committee’s report on the problems faced by the UK Passport Agency during the summer of 1999 in relation to the implementation of new computer systems in public bodies in Scotland.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Scottish Executive contributed to the preparation of the McCartney Report which drew out the lessons from a wide range of major IT implementations in the public and private sectors in the UK and overseas. The report, Successful IT – Modernising Government in Action, was published in May and the Executive supports its recommendations. As the next step in our actions to promote best practice, a section of the new 21st Century Government website, within the overall Scottish Executive website, which will be launched in the first week of September will be dedicated to sharing lessons from IT projects.

Pig Industry

Alex Johnstone (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive under what circumstances it would consider action designed to prevent swine fever spreading to Scotland and whether any such action has been taken to date.

Ross Finnie: I refer Mr Johnstone to the answer I gave to question S1W-9155 on 4 September 2000.

Prison Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8864 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 August 2000, which parties are being formally consulted in the Scottish Prison Service review of the prison estate, when the review will be completed and whether the detailed review will be made public.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  No formal consultations are being carried out in what is an internal SPS business review, though informal discussions have been undertaken with a number of bodies with an interest in penal issues. No date has been set for the end of the review. The review will assist discussions with Ministers on SPS strategy over the next few years.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider designating the B7076 as an alternative tourist route to the M74.

Sarah Boyack: The B7076 is a local road and its designation as an alternative tourist route is a matter for the Scottish Tourist Board in conjunction with the local roads authorities to address.

  The Scottish Executive will consider any application for signing of an officially designated tourist route or trail which interfaces with a trunk road.

Roads

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7725 by Sarah Boyack on 9 August 2000, when it anticipates that sufficient consideration of the A65 (Dalkeith Bypass) scheme will have taken place to determine whether a multi-modal appraisal of the scheme will be carried out.

Sarah Boyack: Following the Strategic Roads Review, I announced on 4 November that the A68 Dalkeith bypass and two other schemes would be held in abeyance. The words in the document Strategic Roads Review - Scheme Decisions were "...these schemes should be held in abeyance so that they can be considered, alongside other emerging priorities, for inclusion in a future trunk road programme. It is envisaged that future appraisals will be conducted using a multi-modal approach which will allow potential trunk road schemes to be considered alongside other potential transport improvements in the area".

  The last comprehensive review of the trunk road programme was completed only nine months ago and no timescale has been set for a further review. The Executive is focusing on delivering the £444 million investment in trunk roads, which I announced on 31 March. This includes the five major schemes and the multi-modal studies agreed following the Roads Review and the schemes at Soutra Hill and Drygrange Bridge on the A68.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been notified by the Scottish Qualifications Authority or any other associated government or public body of any legal action that has been initiated by any interested parties as a result of current problems resulting from the publication of late or inaccurate examination results.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive has not been notified of any legal action resulting from the publication of examination results.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive on what date (a) the Scottish Qualifications Authority, (b) the Scottish Executive and (c) the Minister for Children and Education became aware that problems could arise in the publication of this year’s school examination results.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The administration of the examinations is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). On (a), I have asked the Chairman to reply to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in SPICe.

  The Scottish Executive first became aware of potential problems with the SQA’s Award Processing System in March. These were discussed with the SQA on several occasions and the Executive received reassurances about remedial action being taken.

  Further administrative problems were reported to the Scottish Executive by the SQA in June. After a meeting to discuss these problems with SQA, officials in the Scottish Executive were in continual contact with SQA, and continued to receive reassurances.

  My officials keep me informed of all major issues on a regular basis.

Scottish Qualifications Authority

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide full details of the computer system currently operated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, including where the system was sourced from, what the initial cost was of the system, what the annual running cost is of the system and whether this particular system, or any other similar system, is used by any other governmental agency or public body in Scotland.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The computer system is an operational matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority. I have asked the Chairman to reply to you and a copy of his reply will be placed in SPICe.

Social Services

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive,  with reference to Making it Work Together: A Programme for Government, whether it will detail its commitments relating to (a) the independent inspection of care services, (b) establishing a new independent regulatory body to ensure high quality care for children and (c) establishing a Scottish Social Services Council to increase the skills and professionalism of the social care workforce.

Susan Deacon: We are today publishing a policy position paper entitled The Way Forward for Care.  This sets out our proposals for modernising the regulation of care services and early education and ensuring that we have a confident and competent social services workforce in Scotland. The policy proposals in the paper were developed as a result of extensive consultation and will form the basis of the legislation required to achieve these Programme for Government priorities.

  (This question was originally answered on 5 July 2000).